Minneapolis, MN – Operation Metro Surge is winding down, if federal officials are to be believed.

White House Border Czar Tom Homan announced Thursday in a press conference that the federal immigration surge in Minnesota would end soon, with federal agents leaving the state until the amount mirrors pre-surge levels. Despite this announcement, aggressive federal immigration actions continue to be spotted throughout the metro, and convoys have been spotted moving in and out from the Whipple Building in similar patterns to previous weeks.

In the meantime, the City of Minneapolis estimates economic damages from the surge to be upward of $203 million and that a fifth of Minneapolis residents are in urgent need of food assistance.

In a report published by the City of Minneapolis this month, officials laid out the stark impact the federal surge had on residents and the area’s economy in just one month’s time.

Continuing our news briefs documenting ICE in Minnesota, below are updates from the past several days of ICE activity in the state.

Monday, February 16: Day 77

Trump admin formally denies Minnesota access to evidence in the killing of Alex Pretti – The Federal Bureau of Investigation formally denied the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and other state law enforcement agencies access to critical evidence in the killing of Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents. They also reiterated they would not be handing over evidence in the Jan. 7 Renee Good killing or the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis.

Judge orders release of man detained at courthouse – A federal judge Monday ordered the government to release an 18-year-old who was detained by federal agents in the Hennepin County Court House on Feb. 10, the Star Tribune reported. Junior de Jesus Herrera Berrios was at the court house for a hearing on drug charges when multiple federal agents began chasing him through the building’s lobby, resulting in a chaotic scene. 

Protesters march from Stewart Park to Alex Pretti memorial – Protesters in Minneapolis marched from Stewart Park to the Alex Pretti memorial on Nicollet Avenue on Monday demanding justice for everyone shot and killed by federal agents since December.

Sunday, February 15: Day 76

DHS removes another 1,000 federal agents from Minnesota – White House Border Czar Tom Homan told Ed O’Keefe on CBS News’ ‘Face The Nation’ Sunday that “we already removed well over 1,000 people [from Minnesota], and as of Monday, Tuesday, we’ll remove several hundred more.” Homan said the plan is to restore the number of federal agents to pre-surge levels, with the exception of agents present to investigate supposed fraud and those prosecuting protesters and journalists.

Hundreds march on Central Avenue – Starting in Jackson Park, hundreds of demonstrators marched through immigrant corridors in northeast Minneapolis and down Central Avenue. “Real safety does not come from press conferences and photo ops,” said Myrka Zambrano. “It’s fought for by people like us, who continue to show up every day, who see through their lies.” While rallying, members of the Anti-War Committee criticized the Minnesota State Board of Investments for refusing to cut Israeli-based assets from its retirement portfolio. They also condemned tech giant Palantir for designing software for Israel and its rollout of Immigrant O.S.

Saturday, February 14: Day 75

No congressional visits to detention centers during partial shutdown, DHS lawyers say – Homeland Security lawyers filed a notice Saturday purporting that a judge cannot continue to force the agency to allow congressional oversight visits so long as funds have lapsed, the Star Tribune reported. (More on new visitation rules below.)

DHS shuts down following Congress’s stalemate on funding bill – The Department of Homeland Security largely shut down at 12:01 a.m. Saturday after Congress failed to pass a funding bill to continue its operations, CBS News reported. Congressional Republicans refused to compromise with Democrats despite not having enough votes to pass the bill on their own, running out the clock on a stopgap bill that lapsed at the end of Friday. Generally speaking the ICE division of DHS has tens of billions of dollars in funding from last year’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” but other divisions such as the Coast Guard and TSA airport security are effectively out of funding at the moment.

Friday, February 13: Day 74

Federal immigration surge costs Minneapolis $200 million – A preliminary report from the City of Minneapolis estimated that the federal immigration surge–in its 11th week–has caused more than $203 million in damages to the city’s economy, the Star Tribune reported. The report also found that one in five Minneapolis residents are now in urgent need of food assistance.

Grand jury indicts women accused of biting federal agents’ fingers – The Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office charged Claire Feng, 27, with assaulting federal agents on Friday in federal court, the Star Tribune reported. Allegedly, she bit the finger of a federal agent as he was detaining her during the aftermath of Border Patrol agents killing Alex Pretti on Jan. 24. Feng, who first appeared in court on Jan. 26, was accused of biting the tip of one agent’s right ring finger off.

ACLU complaint alleges ICE mistreated more than 80 Minnesotans – The ACLU and ACLU of Minnesota filed a complaint with more than 80 declarations with the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota alleging mistreatment at the hands of federal agents, the ACLU announced in a press release Friday. The declarations include statements on first-hand experiences of intimidation and violence against people documenting, witnessing and protesting ICE activity in Minnesota. “DHS has engaged in a relentless campaign to trample these rights in order to silence and cow those who expose their brutal immigration enforcement tactics,” ACLU senior staff attorney Scarlet Kim said in the statement.

911 transcripts reveal witness accounts of federal agents shooting Alex Pretti and the following chaos – The City of Minneapolis released 911 transcripts from when Border Patrol agents killed Alex Pretti and the ensuing chaos that engulfed Nicollet Avenue to the Star Tribune, illustrating the scene from the perspective of eyewitnesses.

DHS places ICE agents involved in north Minneapolis shooting on leave – Two ICE agents are under investigation by DHS after lying under oath about events leading up to the shooting of a Venezuelan man in North Minneapolis on Jan. 14, the Star Tribune reported. The investigation followed sworn testimony from the two agents, which the U.S. Attorney’s Office said was “materially inconsistent” with the allegations made in the initial criminal complaint.

Former Minnesota U.S. Attorneys condemn Trump admin’s ‘ongoing damage’ – Eight former Minnesota U.S. Attorneys from different parties condemned the actions of the current U.S. Attorney General for diverting all of the office’s resources to immigration and carrying out the federal government’s agenda, in a statement released Friday.

Protesters and journalists plead not guilty in Cities Church case – Five defendants pleaded not guilty in the federal prosecution of protesters and press who attended a demonstration at Cities Church in St. Paul, where ICE Field Director David Easterwood serves as a pastor. Nine defendants, including press, are being charged with interfering with a religious service under 18 U.S.C. section 248(a)(2) . The five who had hearings were Nekima Levy Armstrong, Don Lemon, Jerome Richardson, and Chauntyll Allen. Read more at the Spokesman Recorder. Trahern Crews and independent journalist Georgia Fort have arraignment hearings on Feb. 17.

Thursday, February 12: Day 73

Homan: Operation Metro Surge will conclude soon, more than 4,000 arrests in Minnesota – White House Border Czar Tom Homan said Operation Metro Surge will officially end soon, and until then the presence of federal agents will continue to wind down, during a press conference on Thursday. “I have proposed and President Trump has concurred that this surge operation conclude,” Homan said. “A significant draw down has already been underway this week and will continue to the next week.” Homan claimed that federal agents have arrested more than 4,000 people since the beginning of the operation.

ICE agents fake car troubles to lure man out of home – ICE agents posed as people experiencing car issues Thursday in Columbia Heights to lure Jesus Flores out of his home to help them, CBS News reported. While looking under the car’s hood, a convoy of federal agents pulled up on either side of the street and detained him.

Judge rules Whipple detainees must be allowed access to attorneys, private phone calls – In a scathing ruling which included myriad human rights abuses, U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Brasel ruled Thursday that detainees at the Whipple Federal Building must be allowed access to an attorney and the ability to make private phone calls within one hour of being detained. The ruling also stipulated that detainees are not to be transferred out of Minnesota during the first 72 hours of detainment and that lawyers are allowed to enter the facility to meet with detainees.

Walz proposes $10 million in partially-forgivable loans for businesses affected by surge – Minnesota Governor Tim Walz proposed budgeting $10 million to disperse partially-forgivable loans to businesses affected by Operation Metro Surge during a press conference on Thursday.

Walz said Trump admin reneged on joint investigation into killings of Good and Pretti after leak – The state and federal governments were close to announcing a joint investigation into the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti last week when the Trump admin appeared to pull back after the Star Tribune reported on a leaked report that the agreement was imminent, the newspaper reported.

Hennepin County weighs federal agent mask ban – The Hennepin County board considered a resolution to ban law enforcement agents from wearing masks or otherwise concealing their identity in county-owned or leased buildings.

ICE director: Agents will return to home stations – ICE Director Todd Lyon said ICE agents removed from Minnesota will be returning to their home stations during the U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on Thursday.

Dozens of Minnesotans gather in D.C. to demand end to ICE funding – A group of 50 Minnesotans traveled to the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., to demand Congress end funding to ICE and Customs and Border Protection, Fox 9 reported.

AG Ellison: federal government denied state officials access to Renee Good’s car, bullet casings – MN Attorney General Keith Ellison told members of the U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee on Thursday that state officials were denied access to evidence in the investigation of the killing of Renee Good. Ellison also added that there was no engagement from the federal government when former Border Patrol Commander-at-large Greg Bovino and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem were in charge of Operation Metro Surge.

More than 1.6 million people with deportation orders – ICE Director Todd Lyons told members of the U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee on Thursday that 1.6 million people in the country currently have deportation orders. Lyon also confirmed that ICE agents only receive 42 to 75 days of training before being deployed.

Pennsylvania detention center opponents reference Minnesota campaign – As the federal government has quickly moved to purchase massive warehouses around the country (see the Project Salt Box dashboard for data), local opposition has mounted. Berks County, Pennsylvania commissioners fielded questions about whether their conservative-leaning county would turn into another “Operation Metro Surge” setting and county meeting attendees referred to families of Renee Good and Alex Pretti (Spotlight PA, 2/12).

Feds try to block public health funding – A major element of the Trump administration’s assault on Minnesota has been attempting to block many channels of federal funding (which is authorized by Congress, not the executive branch). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are attempting to block $38 million in public health funds (MN Dept of Health news release 2/12). California, Colorado and Illinois are similarly targeted. Minnesota has sued and a temporary restraining order is currently in place (MPR News, 2/12).

Reports indicate misconduct and power struggles inside DHS – An investigation by the Wall Street Journal showed infighting and possible corruption within the Department of Homeland Security, which is largely but not entirely controlled by Secretary Kristi Noem and longtime Trump confidante Corey Lewandowski (WSJ 2/12). Power struggles have revolved around Minneapolis as White House adviser Tom Homan and his longtime associate, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott, took over the Minneapolis operation and displaced Greg Bovino, who is seen as closer to Noem (who is hostile to Scott and has tried to pressure him out of CBP by removing top staff). Similar power struggles were reported inside DHS earlier (The Atlantic 1/29) between Noem, Lewandowski, Homan, Bovino, and Scott.

Wednesday, February 11: Day 72

Indigenous activists occupy land outside Fort Snelling – Indigenous activists erected multiple tipis at Coldwater Springs outside Fort Snelling on February 9, aiming to occupy the land until Fort Snelling is returned to the Dakota people. Read Unicorn Riot’s report published Feb. 11.

Indigenous Activists Occupy Land Near Fort Snelling, Plan to Stay Until ‘Land Back’

Police arrest 21 at Richfield Target protest – Richfield police arrested and later released nearly two dozen protesters during a demonstration at the Target where Border Patrol agents detained a 17-year-old employee last month, the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder reported. The demonstration was part of a series of demonstrations against Target across the Twin Cities.

St. Paul calls on hotels to stop housing ICE agents – The St. Paul City Council unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday urging hotels not to house federal agents.

Federal agents cause multi-car crash in St. Paul after high-speed chase – Federal agents engaged in a high-speed chase with a man suspected of being an undocumented immigrant, causing an accident invloving multiple vehicles Wednesday morning in the Cathedral Hill area of St. Paul, the Star Tribune reported.

U.S. AG Bondi dodges questions, touts arrests in Minnesota – U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared before the House Judiciary Comittee Wednesday, where she dodged questions on the federal government’s handling of the investigations into the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by touting the Trump admin’s record on immigration enforcement.

Attorneys claim poor conditions and chaos at Whipple detention facility – Attorneys for the Advocates for Human Rights claimed to have witnessed “significant disarray and chaos” after visiting the Whipple Federal Building on Monday, the Star Tribune reported. The federal government has been using the Whipple building as the center of its aggressive immigration enforcement activities in the Upper Midwest. The building includes a detention facility, which federal authorities have been fighting to keep watchdogs and attorneys out of until a judge ruled over the weekend that attorneys be given full access to the facilities.

Previous ICE Blog Update: ICE in Minnesota — Days 69-71: Hints of Fed Withdrawal Teased, Homeland Security Chiefs Grilled in Congress

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Correction: An earlier version of this blog post had incorrectly noted federal felony charges against a person.

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